PECES DE LAS ISLAS DEL ROSARIO Y DE SAN BERNARDO (COLOMBIA). III. COMPARACION CON OTRAS REGIONES DEL ATLANTICO OESTE TROPICAL

Abstract

A comparison of reef fish fauna from the Cartagena (Rosario and San Bernardo islands) and Santa Marta (including Tayrona National Park) regions, Colombian Caribbean, is presented. This comparison is based on more than Ave years of sampling in Santa Marta and on 76 hours of underwater observations and collection in the islands around Cartagena. It has been found that many species present in the Cartagena region do not exist or have reduced populations in the Santa Marta reefs, but are present in the Bahama Islands, which are more than 8 times farther from Cartagena than Santa Marta. Such factors as the relative environmental instability, influence of turbid currents and less developed coral reefs, may be acting as limiting conditions for the development of these fishes in the Santa Marta region. The distribution in Venezuela of the species considered is also analyzed; there is a similar phenomenon to that of the Colombian Caribbean, probably produced by the influence of upwelling and turbid waters on some coastal areas.